Page 11 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
He lowered his head for a minute so he could catch his breath, and when he raised it again, he heard the door open. Hope walked out of the cottage and came to sit beside him. He turned to look at her, and she gave him a small smile.
“Do ye mind me joinin’ ye out here?” she asked, and raised her head to look at the sky. “It is a beautiful night and I would love to enjoy the view.”
When he didn’t say anything, she sighed again and closed her eyes. “I’ve never been outside the Castle,” she began. “Since I was born, I’ve lived heavily guarded by my faither’s men as his most prized possession. That is all I am to him, a possession that he can sell to the highest bidder.”
She turned to him and he saw her eyes were teary. The sight brought a flicker of anger to his heart. How could a father treat his child like an object? He knew men like Laird Drummond. His uncle, Lyall, was a similar man. They believed in power and wealth, didn’t care about the feelings of others and spent their time with women in the Clan, believing that they could do whatever they wanted.
“I dinnae ken how he would react to this,” she added. “He is always mean with his words to my maither whenever I do anythin’ rebellious, and now runnin’ away from my celidih and weddin’ a stranger would make him really angry.”
“I wouldnae let him do anythin’ to ye, Hope. As yer husband, I vow to protect yer from everyone who wants to hurt ye. We are married now,” he said, surprising himself by the surge of protectiveness he suddenly felt. “This arrangement was my idea, and I will make sure ye dinnae get punished for it.”
“What would ye do about yer uncle? He would be very angry with ye for stealin’ his bride,” she said and her eyes reflected her concern for him.
“I am his advisor, so I live in his Castle. He would be angry, but he wouldnae be able to hurt me. My faither was Laird before he died and I should have been Laird after he died, but Lyall took over when I was younger. A section of the Clans’ men is still loyal to me, they would protect us.”
Without thinking of his next action, he reached out, and took her hand in his. “All we need to worry about, is facin’ yer faither.”
8
The next morning, Hope washed up early before her aunt was up, and she prepared a meal. Orlaith slept in the inner chamber, and she took the bed while Ian gathered blankets and placed them on the wooden floor.
When she woke up, he was already gone from the cottage, and she knew he had gone for a ride because when she stepped out to the front porch, she couldn’t find his horse anywhere in sight.
When she had finished having breakfast, he returned. “How was yer night?” he asked as he removed his boots and sat on the bed. “What are ye doin’?” he asked, and she showed him the flowers she was crushing.
“Orlaith is teachin’ me how to make some herbs,” she replied him. Orlaith came into the cottage from outside, and smiled at both of them. When Hope first saw her, she had looked very old and haggard, but the more she looked at her, the more she saw the obvious resemblance with her mother.
Orlaith’s vast knowledge in herbs and healing had earned her a reputation among these people as a witch, but she did not see anything strange about the woman besides the location of her cottage.
“Ye both have been through a tough journey, and ye would ride out soon back to Drummond,” she said. “Ye need to be healthy for the days ahead, and strong when ye start to have bairns.”
Hope cleared her throat at the mention of children, and heat rose to her cheeks because she turned and saw Ian’s gaze was fixed on her. She had not even thought about children. She was married to him now, so bearing him sons was part of her duty.
Our marriage is one of convenience, I do not think he would consider having children with me.
“Bairns are very important,” Ian said to her aunt, and Hope caught the teasing smile on his lips. “I would like to have a number of them, Orlaith,” he continued the conversation, and her aunt grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to him so she could listen to him talk. “I have a sister and we grew up together, so I would love to have more than one bairn.”
“My sister and I,” Orlaith replied, “were born and raised here in Cawdor. When my faither decided to marry us off, he chose Laird Drummond to be my husband,” she said. “But when he saw my sister, Moira, he chose to wed her instead. She was a beauty to behold, just like ye Hope. Ye remind me of her when we were younger, so full of life and joy.”
“She isn’t the same,” Hope said. Ian turned to look at her, and she shrugged. “My faither keeps her in the Castle and I ken how unhappy she is with him. She isn’t the same, and ye might nay even recognize the woman she has become.”
Everyone fell silent at Hope’s revelation, and she focused on crushing the flowers. When she finished, Orlaith prepared a tonic for both of them to drink.
They spent the days with Orlaith helping her around the cottage. Ian worked in the garden in the back, he helped her repair the fence surrounding her crops and Hope helped with planting new seedlings that could sprout in the winter.
When night came, it snowed heavily, so they remained inside. Hope snuggled into the blanket on the bed while Ian lay awake on the floor. Orlaith’s loud snoring stopped them from falling asleep, so they lay awake and talked instead.
“Do ye think when we make it back to Drummond, those Lairds would have all returned to their homes?”
“Aye, the other Lairds will, but knowing my uncle, he wouldnae rest until he has found ye, and made ye his.”
Ian words caused her to shudder, and the image of Lyall’s face reared up in her mind again. What would it be like if she had been married to Lyall instead? He had acted gentle when he greeted her in front of her father, but how would he have treated her when they got back to his Castle? She was glad she wouldn’t have to find out what it would have been like.
Ian looked calm even though he had a dangerous gaze that made her breath hitch in her throat. There was something about him that excited her. Hope didn’t know what it meant, but she could tell it was something that wouldn’t pass away soon, because even when he had finally dozed off, the thought of him kept her up.
* * *
All Ian could think of was their kiss, so he decided to distract himself with thoughts of his plans against his uncle. It didn’t work, so he was resigned to spending the night thinking of and staring at Hope.
